As of the end of December last year, the increase in domestic employment insurance subscribers recorded the lowest level in 55 months since May 2020. Compared to other Decembers in history, it was the lowest in 21 years since 2003.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor published results from the report titled 'Labor market trends based on December 2024 employment administration statistics' on the 13th.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's announcement that day, the number of employment insurance regular subscribers in December last year was 15,311,000, an increase of 159,000 (1.1%) from the same month the previous year. Although the number of regular employment insurance subscribers has continued to increase compared to the same month last year, the growth rate is slowing.
The increase in the number of employment insurance regular subscribers in December last year was the lowest since May 2020 (159,000). May 2020 was the time when COVID-19 began to spread. In the context of historical Decembers, it marked the smallest increase since 2003 (53,000).
While the number of subscribers in the manufacturing and service sectors has increased, the number of subscribers in the construction industry continues to decline. Analysts attribute this to the completion of government direct job project contracts that began at the start of this year.
By industry, the number of subscribers in the manufacturing sector was 3,862,000, an increase of 26,000 (0.7%) from the same month the previous year. During the same period, the service sector also saw an increase to 10,542,000, which is a rise of 149,000 (1.4%). In contrast, the construction sector had 762,000, which is a decrease of 17,000 compared to the same month last year. The decline in the number of employment insurance subscribers in the construction sector has continued for 17 months.
Cheon Gyeong-gi, head of future employment analysis at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, noted, "One of the industries where the increase in employment insurance subscribers has slowed the most is the social welfare services sector," adding that "the number of subscribers in non-residential welfare facilities decreased to the 30,000s, influenced by the expiration of contracts in market-type job projects within the government job creation initiative that was expanded at the beginning of the year."
By gender, male subscribers numbered 8,492,000, an increase of 33,000 compared to the same month last year. For females, the number was 6,819,000, which represents an increase of 126,000.
By age group, there was an increase of 63,000 in those in their 30s, 77,000 in those in their 50s, and 168,000 in those aged 60 and over. Conversely, there was a decrease of 101,000 in those under 29 and 48,000 in those in their 40s.
In December last year, the number of new applications for job seeker benefits was 101,000. This reflects an increase of 8,000 (9%) from the same month the previous year, primarily in the construction and retail sectors. During the same period, the number of job seeker benefit recipients was 531,000, an increase of 19,000 (3.6%). The total amount paid was 803.2 billion won, which means an increase of 44.5 billion won (5.95%).
In December last year, the number of new hires through the WorkNet system was 158,000, which is a decrease of 38,000 (19.4%) compared to the same month last year. New job seekers numbered 392,000, an increase of 41,000 (11.8%).